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Review: |
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The Promise Ring is the first thing that comes to mind. At Dusk combines aggressive, super poppy snare drum accents, angular guitar dualism, and forceful multiple vocals. I like it, but it's been done. I'm sure the band puts on an energetic and fun performance.
This is what would be considered emo performed by competent musicians. I didn't realize that this was a prominent musical vein. It was always great sounding, and it's fairly easy to sound good with this type of music, but you do have to be skilled as a musician, which At Dusk obviously are. The album seems to get stuck a lot in the super emo, power chord strike cliché. It's always fun, but I feel that it's over abused and somewhat tired, as is the case with the rest of the album. There are a lot of these tricks on the album.
So, if you're looking for a new flavor of Promise Ring, check out At Dusk. I don't think there's much chance of seeing them on the East Coast anytime soon as they are Portland based. I can imagine the band opening for perhaps bigger acts, and doing well. While there doesn't appear to be much musical innovation, the band does their sound, and they do it well. Also of note, I imagine the gear they play through is great. The guitar tones are awesome on the album, as is usually the case for talented musicians who require top notch gear. I know I'm talking shop here, but it's worth a mention, as it is such an element of the sound of this album.
There is a standout tracks. Say That You'll Do It features
a complicated pulsating disco tinged drum and bass chorus with some Fugazi
style multi vocalization. It stands out, and it is definitely a high point
on the album. Preceding that song is an intro track, which hints
at a more album-focused recording as opposed to a single release. The band
has been playing together for a long time, and they probably have been playing
this song for a while. It sounds very fixed, and very cool.
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